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Toyota earns its steadily growing chunk of the U.S. new-vehicle market by delivering consistently high quality, exceptional reliability, generally quiet operation, high resale values, and all-around user-friendliness. With a couple of notable exceptions, the Camry Solara conforms to those Toyota norms and is therefore a good choice for a sunny afternoon of leisurely cruising.

The Solara is capable of comfortably accommodating four all-grown-up passengers for drives of almost any duration. Our test car was enhanced by seats clad in soft leather with a wide range of power adjustability, plus front side airbags and the broadest array of features in our convertible corral. With all those features, it was also the most expensive. It makes for a car that does a pretty respectable job of keeping its occupants happy -- provided the pace is sedate and the road is straight.

When those easy driving tasks ceased to exist -- about the time we began the climb out of the Anza-Borrego Desert into the tight mountain roads west of the basin -- the Solara's popularity sank in direct proportion. As the grades steepened and the curves tightened, the Toyota's responses went from unobtrusive and benign to slow and mulish, provoking a correspondingly disparaging tonality in the logbook commentary.

"Not a lot of punch uphill, lots of rock-'n'-roll in transitions," said one tester, who added some gratuitous remarks about Dramamine.

"Not a sporting bone in its body," wrote another. "I'll be surprised if there's anything left of the front-tire sidewall markings."

Understeer and reluctant transient responses are traits we expect in front-drive cars that lack sporting pretensions, of course, but the Solara had more of both than its rivals. It was the slowest in our emergency-lane-change test, recorded the poorest skidpad number, and steadfastly refused to be hurried in the high country. We were also a little surprised at the Solara's rather sluggish forward progress -- 8.5 seconds to 60 mph, slower than all but the Sebring. And even the Sebring could motor away from the topless Camry in the twisty sections, which we put down to the Toyota's limited grip, excessive body roll, and general resistance to directional changes.

Aside from the issue of degree, none of this sluggishness was unexpected. This even applies to the chassis, which was the most flexible in our fleet. Toyota has never had much success with retaining chassis stiffness in its convertiblized coupes, and the Solara is not an exception.

But we did encounter a couple things that were anomalous by Toyota's standards. For example, all hands remarked on the turbulence in the Solara's top-down cockpit, whether the windows were up or down. Related to that, the automatic climate-control system refused to deliver heat when the top was down unless the temperature control was set at "high." Worst of all, it sometimes took two or three tries to get proper wind sealing along the windshield header.

In the end, the Solara had no advocates. With the exceptions noted above, it has all the basic Camry virtues. But the fun-to-drive factor is essentially absent.